The TA's AA units were mobilised on 23 September 1938 during the Munich Crisis, because the organisation of the 2nd AA Division and its component units was not yet complete, it was only partially mobilised. The emergency mobilisation lasted nearly three weeks before the TA units were released on 14 October, the experience led to improvements in equipment scales, and a rapid expansion of AA defences brought many new AA gun and searchlight units into existence.[7] In November 1938, the 32nd and 33rd AA Brigades transferred to the newly formed 4th Anti-Aircraft Division; in June 1939, the 30th and 31st AA Brigades joined the 7th Anti-Aircraft Division.[8] They were replaced in the 2nd AA Division by new brigades created in September 1938: the 39th at Retford in Nottinghamshire and the 40th and 41st in London.[4] The 39th AA Brigade was also intended to transfer to the 7th AA Division just before the outbreak of war, but in practice this did not occur;[9][10] in April 1939, AA Command was formed to control all the AA gun and searchlight defences of the United Kingdom.

Major-General Harrison was transferred to command RA Training Establishments and was replaced as the General officer commanding (GOC) of the 2nd AA Division on 30 May 1939 by Maj-Gen Claude Grove-White.[6][11]

The deterioration in international relations during 1939 led to a partial mobilisation in June, and a proportion of TA AA units manned their war stations under a rotation system known as 'Couverture'. Full mobilisation of AA Command came in August 1939, ahead of the declaration of war on 3 September 1939.[12]

The division also had 6 3-inch and 12 40mm Bofors light AA (LAA) guns, as well as 88 light machine guns (LMGs).[11]

On 23 September 1939, responsibility for the Humber Gun Zone (including 30 HAA guns manned by the 62nd (Northumbrian) and 91st AA Rgts) was transferred from the 39th AA Brigade to the 31st AA Brigade in the 7th AA Division, this responsibility reverted to the 39th AA Brigade and the 2nd AA Division in May 1940.[10][18]

In August 1940, all RE AA battalions became Searchlight regiments of the RA, and AA regiments became HAA regiments to distinguish them from the new LAA regiments being formed.

In July 1940, at the height of invasion fears, a mobile column called 'Macduff' was formed by the 50th AA Brigade, consisting of one HAA battery and one S/L Company to operate directly under the command of the 2nd AA Division, available to combat enemy paratroopers.[20][21]

The division's order of battle thus contained a large number of S/L units. AA Command redeployed its S/L units during the summer of 1941 into 'Indicator Belts' of radar-controlled S/L clusters covering approaches to the RAF'sNight-fighter sectors, repeated by similar belts covering AA Command's Gun Defence Areas (GDAs). Inside each belt was a 20 miles (32 km) deep 'Killer Belt' of single S/Ls cooperating with night-fighters patrolling defined 'boxes'. The pattern was designed to ensure that raids penetrating deeply towards the Midlands GDAs would cross more than one belt, and the GDAs had more S/Ls at close spacing, the number of LAA units to protect Vital Points such as airfields was growing, albeit slowly.[29]

After December 1941 the division's order of battle was as follows:[30][31]

32nd AA Brigade

136th HAA Rgt (new regiment formed October 1941; left March–April 1942; returned June 1942) [32]

45th LAA Rgt (from the 41st AA Brigade August 1942; left September 1942)

The 66th AA Brigade HQ, with its signal section and transport company, left AA Command in August 1942 and came under War Office control ready to join First Army in the invasion of North Africa (Operation Torch).[34][35]

The 2nd AA Division, like the other AA Corps and Divisions, was disbanded and replaced on 1 October 1942 by a new AA Group structure, the Midlands and East Anglia were covered by the 5th AA Group, headquartered at Hucknall. The 2nd AA Divisional Signals was apparently converted into the new Group signal unit.[8][36]

Gen Sir Martin Farndale, History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery: The Years of Defeat: Europe and North Africa, 1939–1941, Woolwich: Royal Artillery Institution, 1988/London: Brasseys, 1996, ISBN1857530802.

1.
United Kingdom
–
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state‍—‌the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government

2.
Army Reserve (United Kingdom)
–
The Army Reserve is the active-duty volunteer reserve force and integrated element of the British Army. Most Volunteer infantry units had unique identities, but lost these in the reorganisation, only one infantry unit, the London Regiment, has maintained a separate identity. Reservists in the past also served as constables or bailiffs, even holding positions of civic duty as overseer of their parish, the more modern Yeomen of the 18th century were cavalry-based units, which were often used to suppress riots. Several units that are now part of the Army Reserve bear the title militia, after the Second World War, for example, the Army Reserve - or Territorial Army as it was known then - was not demobilised until 1947. All Army Reserve personnel have their jobs protected to a limited extent by law should they be compulsorily mobilised. There is, however, no protection against discrimination in employment for membership of the Army Reserve in the normal course of events. As part of the process, remaining units of militia were converted to the Special Reserve. The TF was formed on 1 April 1908 and contained fourteen infantry divisions and it had an overall strength of approximately 269,000. The individual units that made up each division or brigade were administered by County Associations, the other members of the association consisted of military members, representative members and co-opted members. Associations took over any property vested in the volunteers or yeomanry under their administration, each regiment or battalion had a Regular Army officer attached as full-time adjutant. In August 1914, after the outbreak of the First World War, territorial units were given the option of serving in France and, by 25 August, in excess of seventy battalions had volunteered. This question over the availability of territorial divisions for service was one of Lord Kitcheners motivations for raising the New Army separately. The first fully Territorial division to join the fighting on the Western Front was the 46th Division in March 1915, with divisions later serving in Gallipoli and elsewhere. As the war progressed, and casualties mounted, the character of territorial units was diluted by the inclusion of conscript. Following the Armistice all units of the Territorial Force were gradually disbanded, New recruiting started in early 1920, and the Territorial Force was reconstituted on 7 February 1920. On 1 October 1920, the Territorial Force was renamed the Territorial Army, the 1st Line divisions were reconstituted in that year. However, the composition of the divisions was altered, with a reduction in the number of infantry battalions required, there was also a reduced need for cavalry, and of the 55 yeomanry regiments, only the 14 most senior retained their horses. The remaining yeomanry were converted to artillery or armoured car units or disbanded, the amalgamation of 40 pairs of infantry battalions was announced in October 1921

3.
Normanton, Derby
–
Normanton is an inner city suburb and ward of the city of Derby in Derbyshire, England, situated approximately 2 miles south of the city centre. Neighbouring suburbs include Littleover, Pear Tree, Rose Hill and Sunny Hill, the original village of Normanton-by-Derby, which now forms the southern part of the suburb, dates back to the medieval period. The area is characterised by high density late 19th century terraced housing in New Normanton and mid-20th century housing estates elsewhere, the Normanton ward had a population of 17,071 in 2011. The modern suburb grew from an ancient village, formerly known as Normanton-by-Derby, the area is thought to have been the site of one of the major Viking settlements in the Derby area, hence the original name, Normanestune, which means Norsemans settlement. Normanestune is mentioned twice in the Domesday Book, once recording the lands of the King, the location of the original village lies just south of the modern ring road, its main thoroughfare commemorated by the present day Village Street. St Giles Parish Church stands on Village Street, atop a slight hill, in the 1740s the Dixie family had Normanton Hall built, this was later used as a school building in the 20th century. The portion of the district to the north of the road is called New Normanton. The area began to urbanise rapidly in the mid 19th century, much of the housing stock in the area is typical Victorian brick terracing. Normanton is one of the seventeen wards which make up Derby, as of the 2015 local elections, all three councillors for the area represent the Labour Party. Some parts of Normanton fall outside the boundaries, for example Normanton Road and much of New Normanton are in the Arboretum ward. The ward forms part of the Derby South constituency of the United Kingdom parliament, Normanton was formerly a civil parish within Shardlow Rural District before being absorbed by the then county borough of Derby. The New Normanton part of the parish was annexed by the town in 1901, the parish was finally abolished in 1928, most of the remainder becoming part of Derby, with some areas transferring to the adjacent parishes of Littleover and Sinfin Moor. According to the 2011 Census, the Normanton ward had a population of 17,071 and this was a 26. 4% increase on the 2001 Census figure of 13,506. The area has an ethnic minority population, with the largest concentration of Derbys British Asian community. In 2011, 67% of the population was estimated to be non-White British, around 43% of the ward population is from an Asian background, with the largest minority community being British Pakistanis at 27% of the total population. The neighbouring Arboretum ward, which parts of Normanton, has very similar figures. There are also mosques in Normanton such as the mosque on Hastings Street, the Mosques on Western Road and Cameron Road, the mosque on Dairy House Road. There is also a Hindu temple on Pear Tree Road, there are various Christian churches meeting in the area, from mainstream Anglican and Roman Catholic congregations to free churches and newer house churches

4.
Hucknall Aerodrome
–
Hucknall Aerodrome was located 5 NM north northwest of Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England and west of Hucknall town. The aerodrome had been operated by the Merlin Flying Club since 1971 and it was a C.1916 grass aerodrome of significant historical importance. On 1 March 2015 the aerodrome closed indefinitely and it is due to be turned into a housing and industrial estate. Hucknall Aerodrome dates to 1916 when it opened under No.12 Group, during February 1918, No.218 Squadron arrived operating the de Havilland DH.9. On 1 March 1918, No.130 Squadron arrived also operating the de Havilland DH.9, on 18 March 1918, No.205 Squadron arrived operating both the de Havilland DH.4 and DH.9. During April, No.135 Squadron RAF was formed but were allocated no aircraft, on 18 August 1918 a detachment of the United States Army Air Service arrived, the 23d Aero Squadron who were engaged with the depot in aircraft and engine repair activities. On 5 November 1918 the 23d Aero Squadron left, the Clubs pilot was Mr. Bernard Martin. The club used the de Havilland DH.60 Moth, on 30 July 1927 they competed in the Kings Cup Race which finished at Hucknall. Sixteen starters set out with the winner W. L, hope flying DH.60 Moth G-EBME over the course of 540 miles at an average speed of 92.8 mph. During the late 1920, s it was decided that the RAF needed to be modernised and expanded to meet expected future demands, subsequently, Hucknall was identified for expansion into an RAF station and was bought by the Air Ministry in the latter part of 1927. This period is known as the 1930s expansion period and many aerodromes were reopened or upgraded during this time. The Nottingham Aero Club vacated the aerodrome during 1928 before the formation of No.504 Squadron, the aerodrome reopened as RAF Hucknall in 1928 and contained newly formed No.504 Squadron. The first commanding officer was Squadron Leader Charles M. Elliot-Smith and this squadron was formed on 26 March 1928 as a Special Reserve Unit in the light bomber role and operated the Hawker Horsley. For training purposes they also operated the Avro 504K, Avro 504N, in 1935 the Hawker Horsley was replaced by the Westland Wallace, again in the light bomber role. On 18 May 1936 the new Squadron Leader Hugh Seely, Bart, MP read out a signal that along with the other Special Reserve Units, in May 1937 the Wallaces were exchanged for the Hawker Hind, continuing the light bombing role. On 2 May 1938, No.104 Squadron left Hucknall for RAF Bassingbourn with No.98 Squadron remaining at Hucknall, on 31 October 1938 No.504 Squadron ended their association with light bombers and became a fighter squadron operating the Gloster Gauntlet replacing the Hawker Hind. As a result of change there was no longer a need for air gunners. A further change for the squadron was a new squadron crest, which incorporated the Major Oak Tree, indicative of nearby Sherwood Forest, throughout the 1930s, Hucknall hosted an annual Empire Air Day with the resident squadrons giving aerobatic and air attack demonstrations

5.
Kimberley, Nottinghamshire
–
Kimberley is a town in Nottinghamshire, England, lying 6 miles northwest of Nottingham along the A610. The town grew as a centre for mining, brewing. Together with the villages of Giltbrook, Greasley and Swingate it has a population of around 6,500 people. At the 2011 Census the appropriate ward was Cossall and Kimberley and this had a population of 6,659. There has been no mining or hosiery manufacturing in the town for many years, Kimberley is referred to as Chinemarelie in William the Conquerors Domesday Book. With the accession of William to the throne Kimberley came into the possession of William de Peveril, the Peverils lost control when they supported the losing side in the civil war which preceded the accession of Henry II of England in 1154. The King became the owner of the land, ralph de Greasleys land passed by inheritance and marriage to Nicholas de Cantelupe who took part in Edward III of Englands Scottish campaigns and also the Battle of Crécy. Nicholas founded Beauvale Priory using part of his Kimberley holding in 1343 and that part of Kimberley which had become the property of Beauvale Priory was claimed by King Henry VIII during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 16th century. The Priorys land was redistributed by the King and came into the possession of Arthur Capell, 1st Baron Capell of Hadham again by inheritance, Arthur was beheaded in 1649 having fought for the Royalists in the English Civil War. Arthurs son was created Earl of Essex in 1661, in 1753 the land was purchased by Sir Matthew Lamb whose grandson William Lamb became Prime Minister in 1834. The Lambs Kimberley estates passed by marriage to the 5th Earl Cowper in 1805 and that part of Kimberley retained by the Cantelupes passed by inheritance and marriage to John Lord Zouch who died at the Battle of Bosworth with Richard III in 1485. He was posthumously found guilty of treason with his property forfeited to Henry VII. John Savage received this part of Kimberley in gratitude for his efforts on behalf of Henry VII at Bosworth, the Savage family sold this land to the Earl of Rutland in the early 17th century. The Duke of Rutlands Kimberley estates were sold in parcels in the early 19th century, airships have flown over Kimberley on a number of occasions. The R101 flew over Kimberley during a flight on 18 October 1929. During a bombing raid on the Bennerley and Stanton Ironworks during World War One, the R101 and the L.20 were rigid airships but more recently, in August 1997 a non-rigid airship advertising the RAC flew over Kimberley. One of Kimberleys most notable structures is its unusual war memorial and this secondary school has a catchment area which extends into the neighbouring areas of Nuthall, Eastwood, Watnall, and Hempshill Vale. On the South side of Kimberley lies Swingate, which has many different walking and cycling routes into the woods, the twin towns of Kimberley are Échirolles in France and Grugliasco in Italy

6.
Milton Hall
–
Milton Hall, near Peterborough, is the largest private house in Cambridgeshire, England. As part of the Soke of Peterborough, it was part of Northamptonshire. It dates from 1594, being the home of the Fitzwilliam family. The house is a Grade I listed building, the garden is Grade II*, the gardens and pleasure grounds of Milton Park are about 3 miles from Peterborough city centre, off the A47 road, and are of about 35 acres to the south of the house. There are views to the park from both sides of the house, in the Middle Ages, Milton was a hamlet in the parish of Castor. The manor of Milton was bought from Robert Wittlebury in 1502 by Sir William Fitzwilliam and he was knighted in 1515 and died in 1534. The oldest parts of the Hall were built in the 1590s by Williams grandson, the third William Fitzwilliam and Lord Deputy of Ireland and he was succeeded in 1599 by his son, the fourth William, who continued to work on the Hall and possibly developed the landscape. On his death in 1618 he was succeeded by his son, later the first Baron Fitzwilliam, a plan dated 1643 records the grounds at this time enclosed by a moat and containing courtyards, fishponds, orchards and gardens. The third Baron was elevated to Viscount Milton and Earl Fitzwilliam, johns son William, the third Earl, married Lady Anne Wentworth, daughter of the first Marquess of Rockingham. Following the death of the third Earl in 1756, the work on the Hall was completed by Sir William Chambers for his son William, to facilitate this he commissioned Humphry Repton to offer advice on improvements to the park in 1791. The fourth Earl died in 1833 at the age of 85 leaving his properties to his only son, with Wentworth Woodhouse the principal seat of the family, the fifth Earl left Milton to his younger son, George Wentworth-FitzWilliam, in 1857. George lived at Milton until after 1912 and is thought to have commissioned Harold Peto to produce plans for a garden within one of the 18th century walled enclosures, the Hall was used by the military during both world wars. In the First World War, a hospital was set up in the house, after the war, Lord and Lady Fitzwilliam returned to Milton to make it their home. The Earl died in 1979 and the Countess in 1995, at time the estate passed to Sir Philip Naylor-Leyland. Joyce Langdale by her first marriage had two daughters, the younger was Elizabeth Anne Marie Gabrielle FitzAlan-Howard who married firstly in 1952, Sir Vivyan Edward Naylor-Leyland, 3rd Baronet. Their son and heir, Sir Philip Vivyan Naylor-Leyland, 4th Baronet succeeded his father in 1987 and he married, in 1980, Lady Isabella Lambton. Elizabeth-Annes first marriage was dissolved in 1960 and she married, secondly, in 1975, in 1917 when the hall housed an auxiliary hospital, Daphne du Maurier made the first of several visits to Milton at the age of ten along with her mother and two sisters. During the Falklands War, on 30 April 1982, the Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and her husband Denis stayed overnight at Milton following an engagement in Sir Stephens Bedfordshire constituency

7.
Peterborough
–
Peterborough is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, England, with a population of 183,631 in 2011. Historically part of Northamptonshire, it is 75 miles north of London, on the River Nene which flows into the North Sea 30 miles to the north-east, the railway station is an important stop on the East Coast Main Line between London and Edinburgh. The local topography is flat and in some places lies below sea level, human settlement in the area began before the Bronze Age, as can be seen at the Flag Fen archaeological site to the east of the current city centre, also with evidence of Roman occupation. The Anglo-Saxon period saw the establishment of a monastery, Medeshamstede, the population grew rapidly following the arrival of the railways in the 19th century, and Peterborough became an industrial centre, particularly noted for its brick manufacture. Following the Second World War, growth was limited until designation as a New Town in the 1960s, housing and population are expanding and a £1 billion regeneration of the city centre and immediately surrounding area is underway. In common with much of the United Kingdom, industrial employment has fallen, with a significant proportion of new jobs in financial services and distribution. The contrasting form Gildenburgh is also found in the 12th century history of the abbey, present-day Peterborough is the latest in a series of settlements which have at one time or other benefited from its site where the Nene leaves large areas of permanently drained land for the fens. Remains of Bronze Age settlement and what is thought to be religious activity can be seen at the Flag Fen archaeological site to the east of the city centre. The Romans established a garrison town at Durobrivae on Ermine Street, five miles to the west in Water Newton. Durobrivaes earliest appearance among surviving records is in the Antonine Itinerary of the late 2nd century. There was also a large 1st century Roman fort at Longthorpe, designed to house half a legion, or about 3,000 soldiers, it may have been established as early as around AD 44–48. Peterborough was an important area of production in the Roman period, providing Nene Valley Ware that was traded as far away as Cornwall. His brother Wulfhere murdered his own sons, similarly converted and then finished the monastery by way of atonement, Hereward, the outlaw, wake or exile, set off with supporters from his exile in Flanders and rampaged through the town in 1069 or 1070. The abbey church was rebuilt and greatly enlarged in the 12th century, the Peterborough Chronicle, a version of the Anglo-Saxon one, contains unique information about the history of England after the Norman conquest, written here by monks in the 12th century. This is the only prose history in English between the conquest and the later 14th century. The burgesses received their first charter from Abbot Robert – probably Robert of Sutton, the abbey church became one of Henry VIIIs retained, more secular, cathedrals in 1541, having been assessed at the Dissolution as having revenue at £1,972.7. ¾ per annum. When civil war broke out, Peterborough was divided between supporters of King Charles I and supporters of the Long Parliament, the Royalist forces were defeated within a few weeks and retreated to Burghley House, where they were captured and sent to Cambridge. Housing and sanitary improvements were effected under the provisions of an Act of Parliament passed in 1790, among the privileges claimed by the abbot as early as the 13th century was that of having a prison for felons taken in the Soke of Peterborough

8.
The Blitz
–
By September 1940—two months into the battle—faulty German intelligence suggested that the Royal Air Force was close to defeat at the hands of the Luftwaffe. The German air fleets were ordered to attack London, thereby drawing up the last remnants of RAF Fighter Command into a battle of annihilation, Adolf Hitler and commander-in-chief of the Luftwaffe Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring, sanctioned the change in emphasis on 6 September 1940. From 7 September 1940, one year into the war, London was systematically bombed by the Luftwaffe for 56 out of the following 57 days, on 15 September 1940, a large daylight attack against London was repulsed with significant German losses. Thereafter, the Luftwaffe gradually decreased daylight operations in favour of nocturnal attacks, ports and industrial centres outside London were also attacked. The main Atlantic sea port of Liverpool was bombed, the North Sea port of Hull, a convenient and easily found target or secondary target for bombers unable to locate their primary targets, was subjected to raids in the Hull Blitz during the war. More than one million London houses were destroyed or damaged and more than 40,000 civilians were killed, by May 1941, the threat of an invasion of Britain had ended, and Hitlers attention turned to Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. The bombing failed to demoralise the British into surrender or significantly damage the war economy, the eight months of bombing never seriously hampered British production and the war industries continued to operate and expand. The German offensives greatest effect was forcing the dispersal of aircraft production, British wartime studies concluded that cities generally took 10 to 15 days to recover when hit severely but exceptions like Birmingham took three months. The German air offensive failed for several reasons, discussions in OKL revolved around tactics rather than strategy. Poor intelligence on British industry and economic efficiency was also a factor, in the 1920s and 1930s, air power theorists Giulio Douhet and Billy Mitchell espoused the idea that air forces could win wars, without a need for land and sea fighting. It was thought there was no defence against air attack, particularly at night, enemy industry, seats of government, factories and communications could be destroyed, taking away their means to resist. It was also thought the bombing of residential centres would cause a collapse of civilian will, democracies, where the populace was allowed to show overt disapproval of the state, were thought particularly vulnerable. This thinking was prevalent in both the RAF and the United States Army Air Corps, the policy of RAF Bomber Command became an attempt to achieve victory through the destruction of civilian will, communications and industry. In the Luftwaffe, there was a view of strategic bombing. OKL did not believe that air power alone could be decisive, contrary to popular belief, evidence suggests that the Luftwaffe did not adopt an official bombing policy in which civilians became the primary target until 1942. The vital industries and transport centres that would be targeted for shutdown were valid military targets and it could be claimed civilians were not to be targeted directly, but the breakdown of production would affect their morale and will to fight. German legal scholars of the 1930s carefully worked out guidelines for what type of bombing was permissible under international law. Wever outlined five points of air strategy, To destroy the air force by bombing its bases and aircraft factories

9.
Anti-aircraft warfare
–
Anti-aircraft warfare or counter-air defence is defined by NATO as all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action. They include ground-and air-based weapon systems, associated sensor systems, command and control arrangements and it may be used to protect naval, ground, and air forces in any location. However, for most countries the main effort has tended to be homeland defence, NATO refers to airborne air defence as counter-air and naval air defence as anti-aircraft warfare. Missile defence is an extension of air defence as are initiatives to adapt air defence to the task of intercepting any projectile in flight, a surface-based air defence capability can also be deployed offensively to deny the use of airspace to an opponent. Until the 1950s, guns firing ballistic munitions ranging from 20 mm to 150 mm were the weapons, guided missiles then became dominant. The term air defence was probably first used by Britain when Air Defence of Great Britain was created as a Royal Air Force command in 1925. However, arrangements in the UK were also called anti-aircraft, abbreviated as AA, after the First World War it was sometimes prefixed by Light or Heavy to classify a type of gun or unit. Nicknames for anti-aircraft guns include AA, AAA or triple-A, an abbreviation of anti-aircraft artillery, ack-ack, NATO defines anti-aircraft warfare as measures taken to defend a maritime force against attacks by airborne weapons launched from aircraft, ships, submarines and land-based sites. In some armies the term All-Arms Air Defence is used for air defence by nonspecialist troops, other terms from the late 20th century include GBAD with related terms SHORAD and MANPADS. Anti-aircraft missiles are variously called surface-to-air missile, abbreviated and pronounced SAM, non-English terms for air defence include the German FlaK, whence English flak, and the Russian term Protivovozdushnaya oborona, a literal translation of anti-air defence, abbreviated as PVO. In Russian the AA systems are called zenitnye systems, in French, air defence is called DCA. The maximum distance at which a gun or missile can engage an aircraft is an important figure, however, many different definitions are used but unless the same definition is used, performance of different guns or missiles cannot be compared. For AA guns only the part of the trajectory can be usefully used. By the late 1930s the British definition was that height at which an approaching target at 400 mph can be engaged for 20 seconds before the gun reaches 70 degrees elevation. However, effective ceiling for heavy AA guns was affected by nonballistic factors, The maximum running time of the fuse, the capability of fire control instruments to determine target height at long range. The essence of air defence is to detect aircraft and destroy them. The critical issue is to hit a target moving in three-dimensional space, Air defence evolution covered the areas of sensors and technical fire control, weapons, and command and control. At the start of the 20th century these were very primitive or non-existent

10.
British Army
–
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom. As of 2017 the British Army comprises just over 80,000 trained Regular, or full-time, personnel and just over 26,500 trained Reserve, or part-time personnel. Therefore, the UK Parliament approves the continued existence of the Army by passing an Armed Forces Act at least once every five years, day to day the Army comes under administration of the Ministry of Defence and is commanded by the Chief of the General Staff. Repeatedly emerging victorious from these decisive wars allowed Britain to influence world events with its policies and establish itself as one of the leading military. In 1660 the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were restored under Charles II, Charles favoured the foundation of a new army under royal control and began work towards its establishment by August 1660. The Royal Scots Army and the Irish Army were financed by the Parliament of Scotland, the order of seniority of the most senior line regiments in the British Army is based on the order of seniority in the English army. At that time there was only one English regiment of dragoons, after William and Marys accession to the throne, England involved itself in the War of the Grand Alliance, primarily to prevent a French invasion restoring Marys father, James II. Spain, in the two centuries, had been the dominant global power, and the chief threat to Englands early transatlantic ambitions. The territorial ambitions of the French, however, led to the War of the Spanish Succession and the Napoleonic Wars. From the time of the end of the Seven Years War in 1763, Great Britain was the naval power. As had its predecessor, the English Army, the British Army fought the Kingdoms of Spain, France, and the Netherlands for supremacy in North America and the West Indies. With native and provincial assistance, the Army conquered New France in the North American theatre of the Seven Years War, the British Army suffered defeat in the American War of Independence, losing the Thirteen Colonies but holding on to Canada. The British Army was heavily involved in the Napoleonic Wars and served in campaigns across Europe. The war between the British and the First French Empire of Napoleon Bonaparte stretched around the world and at its peak, in 1813, the regular army contained over 250,000 men. A Coalition of Anglo-Dutch and Prussian Armies under the Duke of Wellington, the English had been involved, both politically and militarily, in Ireland since being given the Lordship of Ireland by the Pope in 1171. The campaign of the English republican Protector, Oliver Cromwell, involved uncompromising treatment of the Irish towns that had supported the Royalists during the English Civil War, the English Army stayed in Ireland primarily to suppress numerous Irish revolts and campaigns for independence. Having learnt from their experience in America, the British government sought a political solution, the British Army found itself fighting Irish rebels, both Protestant and Catholic, primarily in Ulster and Leinster in the 1798 rebellion. The Haldane Reforms of 1907 formally created the Territorial Force as the Armys volunteer reserve component by merging and reorganising the Volunteer Force, Militia, Great Britains dominance of the world had been challenged by numerous other powers, in the 20th century, most notably Germany

11.
East Midlands
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The East Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of NUTS for statistical purposes. The eastern part of the Midlands, it consists of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, the region has an area of 15,627 km2, and was home to over 4.5 million people in 2011. The regions relative proximity to London and its connectivity on the national motorway and it is also the location of East Midlands Airport in north Leicestershire. The high point at 636 m is Kinder Scout, in the Peak District of the southern Pennines in northwest Derbyshire near Glossop. Other upland, hilly areas of 95 to 280 m in altitude, together with lakes and reservoirs, rise in and around the Charnwood Forest north of Leicester, and in the Lincolnshire Wolds. The regions major rivers, the Nene, the Soar, the Trent and the Welland, flow in a direction towards the Humber. The Derwent, conversely, rises in the High Peak before flowing south to join the Trent some 2 miles before its conflux with the Soar, the centre of the East Midlands area lies roughly between Bingham, Nottinghamshire and Bottesford, Leicestershire. The geographical centre of England lies in Higham on the Hill in west Leicestershire, some 88% of the land is rural in character, although agriculture accounts for less than three per cent of the regions jobs. Lincolnshire is the only county of the six, with a true North Sea coastline of about 30 miles due to the protection afforded by Spurn Head. Church Flatts Farm in Coton in the Elms, South Derbyshire, is the furthest place from the sea in the UK, in April 1936 the first Ordnance Survey trig point was sited at Cold Ashby in Northamptonshire. The Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts and The Wildlife Trusts are based next to the River Trent, the National Centre for Earth Observation is at the University of Leicester. The region is home to large quantities of limestone, and the East Midlands Oil Province, Charnwood Forest is noted for its abundant levels of volcanic rock, estimated to be approximately 600 million years old. 25% of the UKs cement is manufactured in the region at three sites in Hope and Tunstead in Derbyshire, and in Ketton Cement Works in Rutland. Of the aggregates that are produced in the region, 25% is from Derbyshire, Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire each produce around 30% of the regions sand and gravel output. Barwell in Leicestershire had Britains largest meteorite on 24 December 1965, the 2008 Lincolnshire earthquake was 5.2 magnitude. Rockingham Forest was designated as a hunting forest by William the Conqueror. The National Forest is a project in central England run by The National Forest Company. It stretches from the outskirts of Leicester in the east to Burton upon Trent in the west

12.
East Anglia
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East Anglia is a geographical area in the East of England. The area included has varied but the legally defined NUTS2 statistical unit, comprises the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, the name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a tribe that originated in Angeln, northern Germany. Definitions of what constitutes East Anglia vary, the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of East Anglia, established in the 6th century, originally consisted of the modern counties of Norfolk and Suffolk and expanded west into at least part of Cambridgeshire. The modern NUTS2 statistical unit of East Anglia comprises Norfolk, Suffolk and those three counties have formed the Roman Catholic Diocese of East Anglia since 1976, and were the subject of a possible government devolution package in 2016. Essex has sometimes included in definitions of East Anglia, including by the London Society of East Anglians. However, the Kingdom of Essex to the south, was an element of the Heptarchy of Anglo-Saxon England and did not identify as Angles. The county of Essex by itself forms a NUTS2 statistical unit in the East of England region, other definitions of the area have been used or proposed over the years. For example, the Redcliffe-Maud Report in 1969, which followed the Royal Commission on the Reform of Local Government, the proposed East Anglia province would have included northern Essex, southern Lincolnshire and a small part of Northamptonshire as well as Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. The kingdom of East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of the East Anglian princess Etheldreda, the kingdom was formed about the year 520 by the merging of the North and the South Folk and was one of the seven Anglo-Saxon heptarchy kingdoms. However, this did not last and over the forty years East Anglia was defeated by the Mercians twice. Finally, in 794, Offa of Mercia had king Æthelberht killed, although independence was temporarily restored by rebellion in 825, on the 20 November 869 the Danes killed King Edmund and captured the kingdom. By 917, after a succession of Danish defeats, East Anglia was incorporated into the Kingdom of England by Edward the Elder, afterwards becoming an earldom. Despite some engineering work in the form of sea barriers constructed by the Roman Empire, much of East Anglia remained marshland and bogs until the 17th century. In the 1630s thousands of Puritan families from East Anglia settled in the American region of New England, East Anglia was ideally suited to airfield construction as it comprises large areas of open, level terrain and is close to mainland Europe. The reduced flight time to mainland Europe therefore reduced the load required and enabled a larger bomb load to be carried. Building the airfields was a civil engineering project and by the end of the war there was one approximately every 8 miles. Many of these airfields can still be today, particularly from aerial photographs, and a few remain is use today. Pillboxes, which were erected in 1940 to help defend the nation against invasion, can also be found throughout the area at strategic points

13.
46th (North Midland) Division
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The 46th Division was an infantry division of the British Army, part of the Territorial Force, that saw service in World War I. At the outbreak of the war, the 46th Division was commanded by Major-General Hon. E. J, originally called the North Midland Division, it was redesignated as the 46th Division in May 1915. The Staffordshire Brigade was composed of battalions of the South Staffordshire Regiment, artillery, engineer, medical and other support services for the division either came from the Volunteers of these counties, or were newly raised in the TF. The North Midland Division was sent to France in February 1915, on 12 May 1915 the division was numbered 46th Division and the brigades were also numbered. During the Battle of Loos the 46th Division was decimated in an attack on the Hohenzollern Redoubt on 13 October 1915 and it was reformed as the Territorial Army in the 1920s as was the 46th Division. However, the 46th Division was disbanded in 1936, the headquarters being converted into 2nd Anti-Aircraft Division, most of the remainder of 46th Divisions units were sent to other divisions, mainly the 49th and the 55th Infantry Divisions. A new 46th Infantry Division was formed in October 1939, a month after the outbreak of World War II, a 59th Infantry Division was also raised as a 2nd Line duplicate of the 55th Division, and contained many units that served with 46th Division. Borrett, May 1931 – December 1932 Major-General Maurice G. Taylor, December 1932 – April 1934 Major-General Sir Hereward Wake, Bt. April 1934 –1937 List of British divisions in World War I Maj A. F. Lt-Col H. F. Alan MacDonald, the 46th Division at Gommecourt, 1st July 1916, West Wickham, Iona Books,2008, ISBN 978-0-9558119-0-6. Breaking the Hindenburg Line, the story of the 46th Division, /Uckfield, Naval & Military Press,2002, ISBN 978-1-843422-66-2. The British Army in the Great War British Military History 46 Infantry Division

14.
Home counties
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The home counties are the counties of England that surround London. The counties generally included in the list are Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent, Surrey, the origin of the term home counties is unknown and no exact definition exists, making their composition a matter of constant debate. The earliest use of the term cited in the Oxford English Dictionary is from 1695, the term is sometimes understood to mean those counties which, on their borders closest to London, have been partly subsumed into London. Indeed, the county of Middlesex has been almost wholly within London since 1965 as have parts of Hertfordshire and Surrey. The third edition of the Oxford English Dictionary defines the term as the English counties surrounding London and they comprise chiefly Essex, Kent, Surrey, and Hertfordshire. Parts of all of historic counties are, since 1965, officially within London. An additional theory is that the derived from the Home Circuit of the courts of Assize which contained Hertfordshire, Essex, Kent, Sussex. The Home counties were described by one 1987 reference book as being inhabited on the whole by nice, comfortable, in fiction, Margo and Jerry Leadbetter of the television sitcom The Good Life, set in Surbiton, represent a typical home counties suburban couple. The home counties as a whole are more prosperous than other parts of the United Kingdom. The towns of Amersham, Gerrards Cross and Beaconsfield, all in Buckinghamshire, were ranked as the top three most expensive in the country in one 2008 survey of average house prices. The area is so large, however, that it includes a number of areas of deprivation such as Margate, Hastings. Multiple definitions of the term have been used in legislation and by official bodies, in the twentieth century, for instance, as follows,1908, The Home Counties Division of the Territorial Force comprised units recruiting in Middlesex, Kent, Surrey and Sussex. 1920, The London and Home Counties Electricity District consisted of the counties of London and Middlesex,1924, The London and Home Counties Traffic Advisory Committee, covering the London Traffic Area, London, Middlesex, and parts of Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent and Surrey. 1926, The Home Counties Licensing Act regulated activities in all parts of Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent,1938, Green Belt Act limited development in parts of Middlesex, Kent, Buckinghamshire, Surrey, Essex, Berkshire and Hertfordshire. 1948, The Home Counties Brigade was formed to administer the regiments of the City and County of London, Kent, Middlesex, Surrey. London commuter belt Metro-land The Association of British Counties

15.
1st Anti-Aircraft Division (United Kingdom)
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The 1st Anti-Aircraft Division was an Air Defence formation of the British Army before and during the early years of World War II. It defended London during the Battle of Britain and The Blitz, 1st AA Division was organised on 15 December 1935 at Hillingdon House, RAF Uxbridge. The headquarters of the division was formed by converting 47th Infantry Division, whose General Officer Commanding, thomson, continued as GOC of the new formation. Thomson had been Commander TA Air Defence Brigades and Inspector of Regular AA Units and he also chaired the War Office committee on expansion and mobilisation of TA AA units, which sat from 1935 to 1937. Tompson was followed in 1937 by Maj-Gen Sir Frederick Pile, who was promoted in 1939 to command the whole of Anti-Aircraft Command,1 AA Division was initially composed of the following formations and units, General Officer Commanding, Major-General R. H. D. The TAs AA units were mobilised on 23 September 1938 during the Munich Crisis, the staff of 1st AA Division now had to implement the Tompson Committees plan. The call-out of key parties by telephone and telegram went well, because the units possessed only a small scale of transport, elaborate plans had been made to requisition civilian vehicles, ranging from heavy lorries to buses and private cars. Equipment was drawn from mobilisation stores, and the detachments ferried out to their war stations, despite some failures and problems, the emergency positions covering London were manned and most of the equipment was in place within 24 hours. The emergency mobilisation lasted nearly three weeks before the TA units were released on 14 October, the existing divisions and brigades were expanded, and the whole AA defence of the United Kingdom was taken over by Anti-Aircraft Command on 1 April 1939. A new 6th AA Division was formed by duplicating 1st AA Divisions HQ at Uxbridge, 6th AA Division took over responsibility for defending the Thames Estuary and the adjacent areas of Essex and North Kent, allowing 1st AA Division to concentrate on the defence of London. 27th, 28th and 29th AA Brigades were transferred to the new formation, the deterioration in international relations during 1939 led to a partial mobilisation in June, and a proportion of TA AA units manned their war stations under a rotation system known as Couverture. Full mobilisation of AA Command came in August 1939, ahead of the declaration of war on 3 September 1939, when the UK declared war on 3 September 1939,1 AA Division had the following composition, GOC, Major-General F. L. M. Royal Artillery AA units were now designated Heavy Anti-Aircraft, Light Anti-Aircraft, or Searchlight regiments, 1st AA Division had established a control centre at a disused Underground station at Brompton Road. An elaborate network of dedicated telephone lines was laid by the General Post Office and Royal Corps of Signals, linking the AA sites, on mobilisation in August 1939, 1st AA Division controlled 159 HAA guns,96 searchlights, and a mixture of LAA guns. Most of the HAA guns were assigned to the IAZ, with one troop of 4 guns at RAF Fighter Command HQ at Stanmore, the London IAZ extended from Cheshunt and Dagenham in the east to Bexley and Mitcham in the south and to Richmond and Northolt in the west. The HAA positions were sited to produce an optimum density of fire of at least 16 guns engaging any one raid simultaneously. 26th AA Brigade still had the heaviest concentration of guns, mainly static 3. 7-inch and 4. 5-inch guns, 48th AA Brigade had a mixture of 3.7 and 4. 5-inch guns, half of the former being mobile. 49th AA Brigade had older 3-inch guns, but also controlled a higher proportion of LAA sites at Vital Points, superimposed on the IAZ were the 73 searchlight sites controlled by 38th AA Bde

16.
York
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York is a historic walled city at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The municipality is the county town of Yorkshire to which it gives its name. The city has a heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events in England throughout much of its two millennia of existence. The city offers a wealth of attractions, of which York Minster is the most prominent. The city was founded by the Romans as Eboracum in 71 AD and it became the capital of the Roman province of Britannia Inferior, and later of the kingdoms of Northumbria and Jórvík. In the Middle Ages, York grew as a wool trading centre and became the capital of the northern ecclesiastical province of the Church of England. In the 19th century, York became a hub of the railway network, in recent decades, the economy of York has moved from being dominated by its confectionery and railway-related industries to one that provides services. The University of York and health services have become major employers, from 1996, the term City of York describes a unitary authority area which includes rural areas beyond the old city boundaries. In 2011 the urban area had a population of 153,717, the word York derives from the Latinised name for the city, variously rendered as Eboracum, Eburacum or Eburaci. The first mention of York by this name is dated to circa 95–104 AD as an address on a wooden stylus tablet from the Roman fortress of Vindolanda in Northumberland, the toponymy of Eboracum is uncertain because the language of the pre-Roman indigenous population was never recorded. They are thought to have spoken a Celtic language related to modern Welsh, in his Historia Regum Britanniae the 12th century chronicler, Geoffrey of Monmouth, suggests the name derives from that of a pre-Roman city founded by the legendary king Ebraucus. Alternatively, the word already existed as an Old English word for wild swine. The Anglo-Saxon newcomers probably interpreted the part as eofor, and -rac as ric, while -um was a common abbreviation of the Saxon -heem. To them, it sounded as a home rich in boar, as is common in Saxon place names, the -um part gradually faded, eoforic. When the Danish army conquered the city in 866, its name became Jórvík, the Old French and Norman name of the city following the Norman Conquest was recorded as Everwic in works such as Waces Roman de Rou. The form York was first recorded in the 13th century, many company and place names, such as the Ebor race meeting, refer to the Roman name. The Archbishop of York uses Ebor as his surname in his signature, archaeological evidence suggests that Mesolithic people settled in the region of York between 8000 and 7000 BC, although it is not known whether their settlements were permanent or temporary. By the time of the Roman conquest of Britain, the area was occupied by a known to the Romans as the Brigantes

17.
Sunderland
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Sunderland is a city at the centre of the City of Sunderland metropolitan borough, in Tyne and Wear, North East England. It is a city at the mouth of the River Wear with adjoining beaches of Roker. The etymology of Sunderland is derived from Sundered-land with the river travelling through the city as opposed to sitting upon the river, historically in County Durham, there were three original settlements on the site of modern-day Sunderland. On the north side of the river, Monkwearmouth was settled in 674 when Benedict Biscop founded the Monkwearmouth–Jarrow Abbey, opposite the monastery on the south bank, Bishopwearmouth was founded in 930. A small fishing village called Sunderland, located toward the mouth of the river was granted a charter in 1179, over the centuries, Sunderland grew as a port, trading coal and salt. Ships began to be built on the river in the 14th century, by the 19th century, the port of Sunderland had grown to absorb Bishopwearmouth and Monkwearmouth. More recently, Sunderland has seen growth as a centre for the automotive industry, science & technology. A person who is born or lives around the Sunderland area is colloquially known as a Mackem. Sunderland was created a borough of County Durham in 1835. Under the Local Government Act 1888, it was given the status of a County Borough, independence from county council control. In 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, the county borough was abolished and its combined with that of other districts to form the Metropolitan Borough of Sunderland in Tyne. The metropolitan borough was granted city status after winning a competition in 1992 to celebrate the Queens 40th year on the throne, the population of this city taken at the 2011 Census was 275,506. Sunderland has the motto of Nil Desperandum Auspice Deo or Under Gods guidance we may neve despair Much of the city is located on a low range of running parallel to the coast. On average, it is around 80 metres above sea level, Sunderland is divided by the River Wear which passes through the middle of the city in a deeply incised valley, part of which is known as the Hylton gorge. The two road bridges connecting the north and south portions of the city are the Queen Alexandra Bridge at Pallion, to the west of the city, the Hylton Viaduct carries the A19 dual-carriageway over the Wear. Most of the suburbs of Sunderland are situated towards the west of the city centre with 70% of its living on the south side of the river. The city extends to the seafront at Hendon and Ryhope in the south, in Millfield, the streets are all associated with plants, e. g. Chester, Fern, Rose, Hyacinth etc. At 3,874 hectares, Sunderland is the 45th largest urban area in England by measure of area, according to statistics based on the 2001 census, 60% of homes in the Sunderland metropolitan area are owner occupied, with an average household size of 2.4 people

18.
Royal Artillery
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The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery, is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name Royal Regiment of Artillery it actually consists of 13 Regular Regiments and 5 Reserve Regiments, the introduction of artillery into the English army came as early as the Battle of Crécy in 1346. Henry VIII made the armys artillery semi-permanent in the sixteenth century, before the 18th century, artillery traynes were raised by royal warrant for specific campaigns and disbanded again when they were over. On 26 May 1716, however, by warrant of George I two regular companies of field artillery, each 100 men strong, were raised at Woolwich. The title Royal Artillery was first used in 1720, in 1741 the Royal Military Academy was formed in the Royal Arsenal at Woolwich to provide training for RA and Royal Engineers officers. The regiment expanded rapidly and, by 1757, had 24 companies divided into two battalions, as well as a company formed in 1741. During 1748, the presidential artilleries of Bengal, Madras and Bombay were formed,1756 saw the creation of the Royal Irish Regiment of Artillery. In 1762 the Royal Artillery Band was formed at Minden, by 1771 there were 32 companies in four battalions, as well as two invalid companies comprising older and unfit men employed in garrison duties. During 1782, the regiment moved to the Royal Artillery Barracks on Woolwich Common, in January 1793, two troops of Royal Horse Artillery were raised to provide fire support for the cavalry, augmented by two more in November 1793. The Royal Irish Artillery was absorbed into the RA in 1801, during 1805, the Royal Military Academy moved to Woolwich Common. In 1819, the Rotunda was given to the regiment by the Prince Regent to celebrate end of the Napoleonic Wars, in 1832, the regimental motto, Ubique Quo Fas Et Gloria Ducunt, was granted. The motto signified that the regiment had seen action in all the conflicts of the British Army. The regiment was under the control of the Board of Ordnance until the board was abolished in 1855, thereafter the regiment came under the War Office along with the rest of the army. The School of Gunnery established at Shoeburyness, Essex in 1859, the third group continued to be titled simply Royal Artillery, and was responsible for ammunition storage and supply. Which branch a gunner belonged to was indicated by metal shoulder titles, the RFA and RHA also dressed as mounted men, whereas the RGA dressed like foot soldiers. In 1920 the rank of Bombardier was instituted in the Royal Artillery, the three sections effectively functioned as separate corps. This arrangement lasted until 1924, when the three amalgamated once more to one regiment. In 1938, RA Brigades were renamed Regiments, during the World War II there were over 1 million men serving in 960 gunner regiments

19.
Tynemouth Volunteer Artillery
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The Tynemouth Volunteer Artillery claims to be the oldest volunteer artillery unit of the British Army. It served coastal, siege and anti-aircraft guns in World War I and World War II, by 25 May 1859, the first drill was held for Rifle and Artillery volunteers at Tynemouth, and formal enrolment for the 1st Northumberland Artillery Volunteers opened on 2 August. In November 1859, the new unit held its first gun practice, over the following years, the unit expanded with additional batteries. In the early years, the volunteer gunners practised on whatever guns were available, including those at Tynemouth Castle, at that time, the policy was for the Artillery Volunteers to support the Rifle Volunteers in the field. They were re-equipped with 20-pounder field and 40-pounder fort guns in 1889, when the Territorial Force was created in 1908, the unit was affiliated to the Royal Garrison Artillery, which was responsible for all coastal and fortress artillery. On the outbreak of war, the Tynemouth Volunteer Artillery deployed to their war stations guarding the major ports of North East England under No 18 Coastal Fire Command. At that time, the regiment comprised two batteries, 151st and 152nd Heavy Batteries, with HQ and 151 Battery at Blyth and they were joined by 268th AA Battery based at Consett and 269th AA Battery based at Seaham Harbour. The 64th was assigned to 30th AA Group in 2nd AA Division, on the outbreak of World War II, 64th was still serving in the 30th Group covering Tyneside during The Blitz. In the summer of 1940, along with other AA units equipped with the older 3-inch and newer 3. 7-inch AA guns and it continued serving with Home Forces until May 1943, when it sailed to North Africa, joining Allied Forces HQ in July that year. It was assigned to Eighth Army for the Italian Campaign, in February 1945, the regiment moved to join Second Army in North West Europe, where it saw out the rest of the war. 509 Regiment was placed in suspended animation in April 1944, and 510 Regiment followed in November 1944, in consequence, the Regimental HQ of 509 Regiment became 616 Infantry Regiment RA in 301st Infantry Brigade. After infantry training in Scotland, the regiment transferred to 21st Army Group on 9 May 1945, and landed on the Continent on 15 May, where it came under the command of First Canadian Army. In 1947,508 and 509 Regiments reformed in the postwar TA as 404 and 405 Coast Regiments based at North Shields, meanwhile,64 HAA Regiment was retitled 464 HAA Regiment. During the 1950s, all three regiments were amalgamated and then merged with 324 HAA Regiment, to form 324 HAA Regiment, RA. In the 1967 TA reorganisation, the regiment became the Headquarters Battery of the amalgamated 101 Regiment RA, in July 2006, the battery was disbanded, but the name was perpetuated in the Radar Troop, of 204 Battery, RA. Ian F. W. Beckett, Riflemen Form, A Study of the Rifle Volunteer Movement 1859–1908, Aldershot, The Ogilby Trusts,1982, norman E H Litchfield and R. Order of Battle of the British Army 1914

20.
Royal Engineers
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The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers, and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army. It is highly regarded throughout the military, and especially the Army and it provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is headed by the Chief Royal Engineer. The Regimental Headquarters and the Royal School of Military Engineering are in Chatham in Kent, the corps is divided into several regiments, barracked at various places in the United Kingdom and around the world. In Woolwich in 1716, the Board formed the Royal Regiment of Artillery and established a Corps of Engineers, the manual work was done by the Artificer Companies, made up of contracted civilian artisans and labourers. In 1782, a Soldier Artificer Company was established for service in Gibraltar, ten years later the Gibraltar company, which had remained separate, was absorbed and in 1812 the name was changed to the Corps of Royal Sappers and Miners. The Corps has no battle honours, in 1832, the regimental motto, Ubique Quo Fas Et Gloria Ducunt, was granted. The motto signified that the Corps had seen action in all the conflicts of the British Army. In 1911 the Corps formed its Air Battalion, the first flying unit of the British Armed Forces, the Air Battalion was the forerunner of the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force. In 1915, in response to German mining of British trenches under the then static siege conditions of the First World War, before the Second World War, Royal Engineers recruits were required to be at least 5 feet 4 inches tall. They initially enlisted for six years with the colours and a six years with the reserve or four years. Unlike most corps and regiments, in which the age limit was 25. They trained at the Royal Engineers Depot in Chatham or the RE Mounted Depot at Aldershot, the Royal Engineers Museum is in Gillingham in Kent. Britain having acquired an Empire, it fell to the Royal Engineers to conduct some of the most significant civil engineering schemes around the world, some examples of great works of the era of empire can be found in A. J. Smitherss book Honourable Conquests. The Royal Engineers, Columbia Detachment, commanded by Richard Clement Moody, was responsible for the foundation, the Royal Albert Hall is one of the UKs most treasured and distinctive buildings, recognisable the world over. Since its opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the leading artists from every kind of performance genre have appeared on its stage. The Hall was designed by Captain Francis Fowke and Major-General Henry Y. D. Scott of the Royal Engineers, the designers were heavily influenced by ancient amphitheatres, but had also been exposed to the ideas of Gottfried Semper while he was working at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Much of the British colonial era infrastructure of India, of which survive today, was created by engineers of the three presidencies armies and the Royal Engineers. In 1838 he designed and built sea defences for Vizagapatam and he masterminded the Godavery Delta project where 720,000 acres of land were irrigated and 500 miles of land to the port of Cocanada was made navigable in the 1840s

21.
Retford
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Retford is a market town in Nottinghamshire in the East Midlands of England, located 31 miles from the city of Nottingham, and 23 miles west of Lincoln, in the district of Bassetlaw. The population of the town at the 2011 census was 22,013, the town is situated in a valley with the River Idle and the Chesterfield Canal running through the centre of the town. The village of Ordsall, west of the River Idle and the East Coast Main Line railway, Retford is under the control of Bassetlaw District Council, with their base being located in neighbouring Worksop. Retford is twinned with the town of Pfungstadt, Germany, Retford gained its first charter in 1246, when Henry III granted the right for a fair, this was later extended to holding a Saturday Market by Edward I in 1275. It was reformed by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835, and then remained a municipal borough until 1974 when it was merged into Bassetlaw district and its civic traditions are maintained by Charter Trustees. The origins of its name are unknown and have been subject to much debate and it was originally named Redforde because the river water was tinged red due to the red clay river bed and frequent crossing of people and livestock disturbing the clay river bed. The first land settled was on the side of the ford. This was known as West Retforth, the highly unusual coat of arms for the town consists of two rampant choughs. On 27 June 2007, a few low-lying parts of the town were affected by the 2007 United Kingdom floods, the majority of Kings Park was flooded under three feet of water. The Asda and Morrisons supermarkets adjacent to the river were also flooded, in the Market Square there is an ornate French-inspired Victorian Town Hall, in front of which is The Broad Stone. Legend says that this stone had a hollow in it used to be filled with vinegar during plague times to disinfect coins. However, it is thought to be the base of a boundary marker - perhaps the Dominie Cross. Also in the Market Square is the war memorial unveiled by Sir Frederick Milner in 1921, the memorial is in the form of an Eleanor cross, an octagonal structure of late gothic design. The names of the men killed in World War I are on the lower 8 panels, the monument was designed by architect Leonard W. Barnard F. R. I. B. A. of Cheltenham. The memorial is constructed of Stancliffe stone from Darley Dale, Derbyshire, just across from the Market Square is Cannon Square which has St Swithuns Church and a cannon captured from the Russians during the Siege of Sevastopol at the end of the Crimean War in 1856. From 2011, Retford was made the European town of respect, each yeah retford has been this for 7 years at August. Nikolaus Pevsner, architectural historian, was scathing about Retford. A singularly unattractive town, he wrote, however Bill Bryson, the American author and former president of the Campaign to Protect Rural England praised the town

22.
Leeds Rifles
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The Leeds Rifles was a unit of the 19th century Volunteer Force of the British Army that went on to serve under several different guises in the World Wars of the 20th century. In World War I both battalions served as infantry on the Western Front and was later were converted into an anti-aircraft and tank unit, fighting in North Africa, Italy and Burma during World War II. When a call was issued for the formation of local Volunteer Rifle Corps in 1859, a unit calling itself the Leeds Rifles was quickly raised with support from the citys business leaders. It was claimed that the whole of A Company was recruited from employees of Joshua Tetley & Sons brewery, in May 1860 it absorbed the less-successful 22nd Yorkshire West Riding RVC, and the combined battalion-sized unit was renumbered the 7th West Riding RVC. Its first headquarters was next to Leeds Town Hall, government funding for the RVCs was strictly limited, and they had to rely upon members subscriptions and the generosity of their officers. Captain Thomas Kinnear of the Leeds Rifles, a partner in the textile firm Benjamin Gott & Son, the primary purpose of the RVCs was home defence, but their enthusiastic members often volunteered for service overseas in other units. At least three members of the Leeds Rifles volunteered to serve in the unofficial British Legion that went to fight with Giuseppe Garibaldi in his 1860 campaign in Naples, officers from the Leeds Rifles apparently served in Captain Watt Whalleys Natal Light Horse in the Anglo-Zulu War. As part of the Childers Reforms in 1881 the Leeds Rifles was attached to its local county regiment and this was despite an offer from the War Office to join a different regiment, a dispute that ran for several years. As part of the compromise, the Leeds Rifles retained their Rifle green uniforms, the Leeds Rifles was sufficiently large to purchase Carlton Barracks, the old militia barracks at Carlton Hill in Leeds, and modernise it as its Regimental HQ. During the Second Boer War the Leeds Rifles raised two companies to supplement the Regular Army on campaign. As a result, the Leeds Rifles was awarded South Africa 1900–1902 as its first battle honour, when the Territorial Force was created in 1908, the Volunteer Battalions became Territorial Battalions of their linked regiments. The 1st and 2nd Bns became 5th and 6th Bns of the West Yorkshires, while 3rd Bn became 7th and 8th, the four battalions formed the West Yorkshire Brigade in the TF. On the outbreak of World War I, the West Yorkshire Brigade mobilised as 146th Brigade in 49th Infantry Division, the First Line TF battalions soon raised duplicate battalions, initially for home service, which constituted 185th Brigade in 62nd Division. In 1915 they formed further reserve battalions that served in the British Isles, on 1 September 1916, 3/7th and 3/8th Bns merged to form 7th Reserve Bn in the West Riding Reserve Bde, and in the summer of 1918 this battalion was sent to Ireland. 146 Brigade landed at Boulogne on 15 April 1915 and served in 49th Division on the Western Front for the rest of the war,49 Division had a peripheral role in the British attack on Aubers Ridge,9 May 1915, soon after its arrival at the front. Much more serious was the German attack of 19 December 1915 on the British line between Frezenberg and Boesinghe on the Northern side of the Ypres Salient, the Germans employed phosgene gas for the first time, delivered by shells instead of a cloud released from cylinders. The British line stood firm, despite heavy casualties from gas, on 1 July 1916, the first day of the Battle of the Somme,49 Division was in X Corps reserve. During the morning,146 Bde was ordered to move to Thiepval Wood to support the 32nd and this move entailed crossing a swamp by two duckboarded causeways, 1/7th and 1/8th Leeds Rifles took the North causeway

23.
Robin Hood Battalion
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The Robin Hood Battalion was a unit of the Volunteer Force of the British Army and Territorial Force, later the Territorial Army. The battalion served as infantry on the Western Front during World War I, in World War II it re-roled as an anti-aircraft unit and served North-western Europe from June 1944 to May 1945. It was formed as the 1st Nottinghamshire Rifle Volunteer Corps by Adjutant Jonathan White on 15 November 1859, the unit was, also, simply known as the Robin Hood Rifles, the titles name being in honour of the legendary Robin Hood. After the culmination of the Cardwell-Childers Reforms on 1 July 1881, the Sherwood Foresters was formed (later the Sherwood Foresters, in 1900, due to the Second Boer War, the Rifles experienced a substantial increase in size. In 1908, reserve forces of the British Army were reorganised, in the following year, they were redesignated as the 7th Battalion. The battalion was assigned to the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Brigade, part of the North Midland Division, when the First World War began in August 1914, the Robin Hood Rifles continued to be part of the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Brigade, North Midland Division. On 19 September, a battalion of the Robin Hoods was formed. This duplicate joined the 2nd Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Brigade, 2nd North Midland Division, the 1/7th Battalion landed in France in February 1915 with the rest of the 46th Division. The battalion saw heavy fighting at the Battle of Hohenzollern Redoubt — a subsidiary action of the Battle of Loos — which was their first major action of the war. The battalion was involved in the first day of the Battle of the Somme on 1 July 1916, the day ended as the bloodiest in the British Armys entire history, with over 57,000 casualties being incurred. In the home front, the 2/7th Robin Hoods had, meanwhile, the division returned to England in January 1917 and then moved to France in February. The 2/7th Battalion took part in actions, including the Battle of Passchendaele. The battalion was absorbed by the 1/7th on 31 January 1918 and the Robin Hoods reverted to their original name, on 7 May, the 7th Robin Hoods were reduced to cadre strength. The First World War ended on 11 November 1918, on 14 June 1919, the Battalion was disbanded. During the First World War, Captain Albert Ball – fourth ranking ace of the Royal Flying Corps – had been awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions in 1916-1917 while seconded from the Robin Hoods. In 1920 the Territorial Force was reformed as the Territorial Army and, on 7 February, with the advent of air power, and the reduced need for so much infantry, the Robin Hoods were one of many units to be converted to the anti-aircraft role. The battalion re-roled as a unit of the Royal Engineers on 10 December 1936 and became the 42nd Anti-Aircraft Battalion and it joined the 32nd Anti-Aircraft Group, 2nd Anti-Aircraft Division and was based in the West Riding region. In August 1940, the became the 42nd Searchlight Regiment

24.
33rd (Western) Anti-Aircraft Brigade
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The 33rd Anti-Aircraft Brigade was an air defence formation of Anti-Aircraft Command of the Territorial Army, part of the British Army, formed shortly before the outbreak of World War II. It defended Merseyside and West Lancashire during The Blitz, AA Command took over all TA air defences in 1939. AA Command mobilised in August 1939, and its units were already at their war stations on the outbreak of war on 3 September 1939,59 AA Brigade was itself placed in suspended animation on 31 October 1955 and formally disbanded on 31 December 1957. A new 33rd AA Bde was formed on 1 November 1955 at Shepherds Bush, London and it had no links with Western Command or Merseyside. This brigade was reorganised on 1 May 1961, becoming 33 Artillery Brigade in 56th Division, litchfield, The Territorial Artillery 1908–1988, Nottingham, Sherwood Press,1992, ISBN 0-9508205-2-0. Routledge, History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery, Anti-Aircraft Artillery 1914–55, London, Royal Artillery Institution/Brasseys,1994, British Army units from 1945 on British Military History Orders of Battle at Patriot Files The Royal Artillery 1939–45 Graham Watson, The Territorial Army 1947

25.
Chester
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Chester is a walled city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales. With a population of 81,340 in 2014, it is the most populous settlement of Cheshire West and Chester, Chester was granted city status in 1541. Chester was founded as a castrum or Roman fort with the name Deva Victrix in the reign of the Emperor Vespasian in 79 AD, one of the main army camps in Roman Britain, Deva later became a major civilian settlement. Chester was one of the last cities in England to fall to the Normans, william the Conqueror ordered the construction of a castle, to dominate the town and the nearby Welsh border. Chester is one of the best preserved walled cities in Britain and it has a number of medieval buildings, but some of the black-and-white buildings within the city centre are Victorian restorations. Apart from a 100-metre section, the listed Grade I walls are almost complete, the Roman Legio II Adiutrix during the reign of the Emperor Vespasian founded Chester in AD79, as a castrum or Roman fort with the name Deva Victrix. The victrix part of the name was taken from the title of the Legio XX Valeria Victrix which was based at Deva, Central Chesters four main roads, Eastgate, Northgate, Watergate and Bridgegate, follow routes laid out at this time. A civilian settlement grew around the base, probably originating from trade with the fortress. The civilian amphitheatre, which was built in the 1st century and it is the largest known military amphitheatre in Britain, and is also a Scheduled Monument. The Minerva Shrine in the Roman quarry is the rock cut Roman shrine still in situ in Britain. The fortress was garrisoned by the legion until at least the late 4th century, after the Roman troops withdrew, the Romano-British established a number of petty kingdoms. Chester is thought to have part of Powys. Deverdoeu was a Welsh name for Chester as late as the 12th century, another, attested in the 9th century History of the Britons traditionally attributed to Nennius, is Cair Legion, this later developed into Caerlleon and then the modern Welsh Caer. King Arthur is said to have fought his ninth battle at the city of the legions and later St Augustine came to the city to try to unite the church, and held his synod with the Welsh Bishops. In 616, Æthelfrith of Northumbria defeated a Welsh army at the brutal and decisive Battle of Chester and her name is still remembered in St Werburghs Street which passes alongside the cathedral, and near the city walls. It was Alfreds daughter Æthelflæd, Lady of the Mercians, that built the new Saxon burh, a new Church dedicated to St Peter alone was founded in AD907 by the Lady Æthelfleda at what was to become the Cross. Taking the helm of a barge, he was rowed the short distance up the River Dee from Edgars Field to the great Minster Church of St John the Baptist by six tributary kings called reguli. In 1071 he made Hugh dAvranches, who built Chester Castle, from the 14th century to the 18th century the citys prominent position in North West England meant that it was commonly also known as Westchester

26.
Liverpool Rifles
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The Liverpool Rifles was a unit of the Territorial Army, part of the British Army, formed in Lancashire as a Rifle Volunteer Corps in 1859, becoming a battalion of the Kings Regiment in 1881. It saw action on the Western Front in World War I, the Liverpool Rifles was raised as the 5th Lancashire Rifle Volunteer Corps by Adam Steuart Gladstone in 1859, during a French invasion scare. Gladstone was a wealthy East India merchant and first cousin of William Ewart Gladstone, despite this altercation, when the first commissions to the 5th Lancashire RVC were issued on 19 August that year, Gladstone and Tilney were listed as the captains of its two companies. In 1860 he leased land from Lord Sefton to create the Altcar Rifle Range, as the number of RVCs grew rapidly during 1860, the smaller company-sized units were grouped into Administrative Battalions. The individual character of the companies was lost in the reorganisation, but a new Liverpool Scottish battalion reformed in 1900, the 5th Lancashire RVC was designated as the 2nd Volunteer Battalion of the Kings Regiment as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881. By that time Robert Tilney was the Commanding Officer with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, volunteers served in the Second Boer War, gaining the battalion its first Battle Honour, South Africa 1900–1901. It formed part of the Liverpool Brigade in the West Lancashire Division of the TF, when war broke out in August 1914 the Territorial Force had just begun its annual training camps. The 6th Battalion, Kings Regiment immediately returned to Princes Park Barracks to mobilise and these were termed First Line battalions, while Home Service men, recruits and the unfit were transferred to Second Line battalions, the 2/6th Kings was formed at Liverpool on 10 September 1914. The battalion moved to Canterbury, Kent in the autumn of 1914, in February 1915 it was sent to France, disembarking at Le Havre on 25 February 1915 and joining 15th Brigade in the Regular 5th Division. Soon after the arrival, 15th Brigade was temporarily transferred to the Regular 28th Division. The 1/6ths first major engagement occurred on 5 May, in a German attack on Hill 60 during the Second Battle of Ypres, control of Hill 60 had briefly fluctuated after its capture in a British attack on 17 April, but fighting ended with the British in possession. Poison gas was used during the preliminary German attack, facilitating the assault against positions held by the 2nd Duke of Wellingtons Regiment. After Hill 60 was lost, companies from the Liverpool Rifles were used successively in support of the 1st Battalion, Cheshire Regiment, C Company, the Liverpool Rifles collectively sustained nearly 100 casualties between the period of 5 May-6 May,22 of whom were killed. German control of Hill 60 was consolidated by 7 May, 1/6th Kings rejoined the Liverpool Brigade (now numbered as the 165th Brigade on 26 January 1916. They forced the line of the Haute Deule Canal on 14–16 October, when the Armistice with Germany came into force at 11.00 on 11 November, the division had reached a line seven miles east of Ath. By 18 December the division had moved to Brussels, demobilisation proceeded during January 1919 and the division had dwindled to samll numbers by the end of April 1919 as men went home. The 2nd West Lancashire Division assembled around Canterbury and was numbered 57th Division in August 1915, at first the battalion only had. 256-in Japanese Ariska rifles with which to train. In late November, they received.303 Le-Enfield rifles, although many of these were in poor condition, towards the end of February 1916 the battalion received its Lewis guns

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Mobilization
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Mobilization, in military terminology, is the act of assembling and readying troops and supplies for war. The word mobilization was first used, in a military context, mobilization theories and techniques have continuously changed since then. The opposite of mobilization is demobilization, mobilization became an issue with the introduction of conscription, and the introduction of the railways in the 19th Century. Mobilization institutionalized the mass levy of forces that was first introduced during the French Revolution, a number of technological and societal changes promoted the move towards a more organized way of assembling armies. The Confederate States of America is estimated to have mobilized about 11% of its population in American Civil War. Kingdom of Prussia mobilized about 6-7% of its population in the years 1760 and 1813. Armies in the seventeenth century possessed an average of 20,000 men, a military force of this size requires around 40,000 pounds of food per day, shelter, as well as all the necessary munitions, transportation, tools, and representative garments. Without efficient transportation, mobilizing these average-sized forces was extremely costly, time-consuming, soldiers could traverse the terrain to get to war fronts, but they had to carry their supplies. Many armies decided to forage for food— however, foraging restricted movement because it is based on the presumption that the land the army moves over possesses significant agricultural production. However, due to new policies, greater populations, and greater nation wealth, for example, in 1812 Bonaparte led an army of 600,000 hyped young drafts to Moscow while feeding off plentiful agricultural products introduced by the turn of the century, such as potatoes. Despite the advantages of mass armies, mobilizing forces of this took much more time than it had in the past. Italian unification illustrated all of the problems in modern army mobilization for Prussia and it was not until Italian Unification that Prussia began to realize the future of mobilizing mass armies when Napoleon III transported 130,000 soldiers to Italy by use of the railroad. French caravans that carried the supplies for the French and Piedmontese armies were incredibly slow and these armies were in luck, however, in that their Austrian adversaries experienced similar problems with sluggish supply caravans. Not only did Prussia take note of the problems in transporting supplies to armies, austria’s army was primarily composed of Slavs but it contained many other ethnicities as well. Austrian military instruction during peacetime utilized nine different languages, accustoming Austrian soldiers to taking orders only in the language they natively know. Conversely, in an effort to augment the efficacy of the new “precision rifle” developed by the monarchy, officers were forced to only speak German when giving orders to their men. Even one Austrian officer commented at Solferino that his troops could not even comprehend the command, in 1914, the United Kingdom was the only European Great Power without conscription. The other Great Powers all relied on military service to supply each of their armies with the millions of men they believed they would need to win a major war